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You may have read a blog in the past about Spizz Night. But if you haven’t, here’s a little info on it.

“Spizz” comes from the word Spizzerinctum, which means to get excited about chiropractic. So each trimester, within the first two weeks, there’s one night set aside for field doctors to come and speak to the students. They get a change to share their experiences and their story of why they chose chiropractic. I’ve attended every trimester since I’ve started. and I think they are amazing! On top of it, the PSAF group (who organizes this event) also has different things to raffle off–for instance Green Books (which are chiropractic books), exercise balls, Redband gift cards and much more.

This trimester Dr. Bradley S. Burt spoke. Dr. Burt spoke about his experience growing up with a father who is a chiropractor and how vital he found it to be even as a child. He even told us a story about a bonsai pant that his mother had in the house, and it bothered him that it was not perfectly straight so one day he decided to adjust the plant … and eventually broke it!

Dr. Burt also told us that he had a tree house where the password to get in was “vertebral subluxation.” I thought that was hilarious! I didn’t grow up with chiropractic and didn’t receive my first adjustment until I was in high school, so needless to say as a child I was never thinking about subluxation!

Dr. Burt also brought up the following quote by B.J. Palmer: “Procrastination is the thief of health.” I thought this was such a powerful quote in general, because when we put off working out for the day and say we will do it tomorrow, we are literally putting off our health. There are so many B.J. quotes, and if you have toured the school, then you would have seen the epigrams all over on the walls.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about Dr. Burt’s talk was that he said, “Always say yes to things!” He talked about a position he took on where he didn’t feel he had the experience. But he said yes to the position and pretty much needed to learn as he jumped. He shared that this experience lead him to other great opportunities!

A while back PSAF (Palmer Student Alumni Foundation) put together a clinic tour with Dr. Hagen’s clinic. Dr. Hagen’s clinic is a second-generation clinic in Bettendorf, where he integrates A.O., SOT and nutrition. He said that he doesn’t feel the need to only work with one technique and instead uses the technique that will suit the patient best.

Dr. Hagen’s Chiropractic Clinic in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Besides SOT and A.O., Dr. Hagen also uses what he learned while at Palmer through the Palmer Package. The Palmer Package includes Toggle Recoil, Palmer Gonstead, Diversified, Thompson and Extremities. It is always great to hear practicing chiropractors say that they really use what they’ve learned through the curriculum in their offices.

Dr. Hagen said that he worked with a graphic designer to make sure the office had an earthy feel. His clinic has multiple fish tanks, which I really liked because it gave the office a more calming effect. Dr. Hagen also rents out two of his rooms in his office to a podiatrist to cut down on the overhead. I have shadowed a handful of different chiropractors and haven’t seen that before.

During the tour, Dr. Hagen adjusted his son and wife. I am always interested in learning more about pediatric chiropractic. But what I thought was probably one of the most interesting things was watching him adjust his wife with the A.O. technique. Before I started chiropractic school, I had seen it done but didn’t fully understand what was all going on at the time. Now that I understand more about the atlas, I think it’s a technique that I would like to learn more about. Dr. Hagen also completed some cranial SOT work with his wife as well to help with her sinus pressure.

I believe PSAF holds a clinic tour each trimester, but this was the first time that I was able to attend. I’m definitely looking forward to more clinic tours through PSAF!

Over the spring break I had the opportunity to shadow with Dr. Skip and Dr. Julie Wyss in Green Bay, Wis. During my first trimester at Palmer, I Googled “pediatric chiropractors in Wisconsin” and came across the Wyss’ website and then throughout the year at Palmer other students have mentioned them to me about how great they are. So I figured over a break would be the best time to visit them since they only practice about an hour from where I grew up.

Both, Dr. Skip and Dr. Julie are graduates of Palmer. When shadowing a chiropractor, I never know what to expect and they were so open and excited to have me there for the morning! I shadowed Dr. Skip with adjustments, and then Dr. Julie spoke to me a lot about the business side of things.

Dr. Julie talked to me about insurance and how they handle it. I’ve been under chiropractic care in the past with practices that took insurance and one that was cash-based. She was telling me that sometimes people who pay cash value their adjustments more. She compared it to a car that you’ve made the car payments on versus one that would have just been handed to you. People are most likely to take better care of the car that they have made the payments on. She said that chiropractic is so similar and that patients paying cash seem to listen more carefully to maintaining the adjustment. I thought this was such great advice and so easy to understand!

Dr. Julie also recommended looking into ICPA (international Chiropractic Pediatric Association), SOT and cranial adjusting for techniques. I’ve been debating between which techniques and organizations will be most beneficial for me to take and be part of while in school. It was great to hear more about these as they are on my to-do list while in school.

While observing Dr. Skip, I was able to see many different families get adjusted. They also have an open room for adjusting, although it isn’t open into the waiting room. I liked that while Dr. Skip was checking the patient’s spine that he was talking out loud for which vertebra he was on and then talked about the organ(s) o which the nerve supplied. I felt that it really solidified to the patient that he knew exactly what he was doing and talking about. Dr. Skip mentioned multiple times to me how important PNS class is, and it definitely showed throughout my time shadowing! I was so thankful to hear that just before starting the class.

One child came in for his second adjustment that had cerebral palsy. The child seemed to keep his head back and kept looking upward. After Dr. Skip adjusted his atlas, there was a noticeable difference that he was looking more straightforward. It was amazing and even the parents were super excited! Seeing something so noticeable was awesome and Dr. Skip talked to the parents about his muscles and the importance of continuing to get adjusted. At school I’ve heard a lot of D.C.s mention that they expect miracles, and this little adjustment will most likely change this child’s life!

Dr. Skip was so excited throughout the entire morning and being around his energy was great! I felt like I had learned so much information that morning. Dr. Skip also recommended coming back throughout my time at Palmer to continue to learn from them. I was so excited to hear that because right now it’s hard to fully understand exactly why and what they are adjusting. Since I’m in toggle class now, I still have so much to learn! I look forward to learning more from Dr. Skip and Dr. Julie!

It’s almost finals time again on the Davenport campus, so while we get ready for these, I’ll tell you about the last trimester’s finals. The fall trimester felt like it went on for a very long time, even with all the breaks. When finals week came up, I couldn’t believe how fast that happened! Finals weeks can be a little nerve-racking with all the tests. But in all actuality, it isn’t too bad. Since you’re in classes, you have more time during the day to study.

I spent the majority of study day (the day before the finals begin–no classes!) at a coffee shop in Moline with a friend so that I would stay focused on Spinal Anatomy. Depending on what I’m studying, sometimes it’s best for be to study in a public location so that I stay on track. Some people go to coffee shops all the time and study all day. Sitting in one spot for a long period of time is too difficult for me, and it gets expensive!

Monday was my most difficult day of finals, but once that was over, I felt so much more relaxed — even though I still had three more finals to go!

Some of the best advice I received my first trimester before finals was to calculate where you are sitting in each class before finals start. Then start prioritizing your time based on where you need the most points. Seems pretty obvious, but some people don’t do it and I think it raises their anxiety a little more. Most professors will also calculate it for you want to make sure your calculations are correct.

And then finals were over on Wednesday,j and I had another trimester in the books! Which felt amazing!

Most mornings while I’m getting ready, I’ll turn on a podcast, normally from “The Chiropractic Philanthropist.” I really like the way Dr. Ed Osburn approaches the podcast/interview and the people he has on (which consist of chiropractors and other successful people).

This week I listened to a podcast where he interviewed Dr. Lance von Stade, who spoke about the Adjusting Ninjas and his experience of what lead him to become a chiropractor. Dr. Lance is nine months out of chiropractic school and doing amazing things in the field.

Dr. Ed asked Dr. Lance for his advice for students on chiropractic school, and his response really resonated with me. He said that what he hears students say is, “How do I make chiropractic school easier?” Dr. Lance went on to say that he immediately thinks of a quote from Bruce Lee: “I don’t pray for an easy life. I pray for the strength to endure a difficult life.”

I really like this quote because, by all means, chiropractic school isn’t easy. But as a family, we all get through this together. Dr. Lance also brought up that if you think chiropractic school is easy, then you might find yourself struggling after graduation.

Another thing that really stuck out during the interview to me was that chiropractic school is like a petri dish and that you will never leave the person you came in as. I love this because I can already, in one year, see the transformation in my views.

I’ve heard Dr. Ed say this before — and he said it again during this podcast — but “embrace the suck.” Sometimes we get caught up in thinking that we are the only ones that fail, but everyone has some sort of failures in life. They just need to learn from it and move forward. I think in chiropractic school that’s a good message, because most likely everything won’t go as planned. Whether it be because of time management, family situations or plain old procrastination, learn from it and just do better next time!

My favorite question that Dr. Ed always asks at the end of the interview is, “What would you tell your younger self, right out of school?” Dr. Lance’s response was to listen. He elaborated more by explaining that aside from listening to your patients, you should listen to your own body and to be aware of it. I think that’s a great message, because too often, we are fully engaged in a conversation with the listening aspect, and people (including myself) are more focused on how they will respond to the statement of the other person. Whereas, sometimes we just need to listen and not respond. My mom is probably the best person who calls me out on this.

If you are looking for a motivational podcast, I highly recommend checking out “The Chiropractic Philanthropist”!

I’ve said it probably in all my previous blogs, but there are so many clubs on campus … including the Adjusting Ninjas!

I believe they started up last trimester, but I just started attending a few club hours this trimester. I saw a poster about a seminar that was going to happen in Davenport in December, so I thought I would check out the club before signing up for the seminar. And I had also heard Dr. Brett Jones on one of podcasts I listen to regularly and figured it was time that I looked further into this club!

The club normally meets around 6 a.m., and if you saw my previous posts, you know I’m a morning person. We start out with a warm up that involves some light jogging, stretching and yoga moves. From there we move into one of the technique rooms on campus so that we can get some hands-on experience. For me, being in a lower trimester it can be a little intimidating not knowing exactly what I am palpating for, but it’s always good experience.

One of the goals of the club is to work on muscle memory, so we focus on moving through motions and then pick up speed. Once we have worked on the motions, we start palpations. And if we find something, we can take a step back and go through the movements as if we were adjusting them.

I decided not to attend the seminar this time, but I’m hoping that they’ll be back while I’m still at Palmer so that I can attend another time. Things have been a little busy with my current class schedule and labs, so I wanted to make sure I focus on those before attending a seminar this trimester.

If you are a prospective student there is one thing you need to know about the fall trimester–it seems like it lasts forever! With Thanksgiving break, then the Christmas break and MLK Day off, it seems like it will never end, even though it is the same amount of time as the other trimesters. Since December, we have had a very mild winter, in my opinion coming from Wisconsin. Only in the past two weeks we have had snow and colder days, which seem to make the time slow down, too.

Although it seems like this trimester will never end, there are a few great things with the fall trimester: you have more time to keep up with classes and study! For example, we had off for Martin Luther King Day Jr. Day, and that was extremely helpful with a Spinal Anatomy exam the same week. Knowing there is full day to study and not having to worry about class was great.

There is now less then a month until left until finals! In most of the classes we have now moved on to the final material, so I finally feel like there is some light at the end of this trimester tunnel. On another note, after this trimester, I have been at Palmer for a full year!

The SICA auction took place early in December, and I was so excited with everything there was to bid on. But my main goal was to bid on the ticket to Cal Jam … which I WON! Within my family, it’s a long-running joke to say that you won something that you actually paid for in an auction. 🙂

Anyways, I have been listening to the Chiropractic Philanthropist podcast for a few months now, and it’s by far one of my favorite podcasts. One day he interviewed Billy DeMoss, and I knew that I needed to figure out a way to get to Cal Jam in March. It just so happened that about a week after listening to that podcast, the list of what would be auctioned off was posted to our Facebook page. And to my surprise, they were auctioning off a ticket!

My brother attended the event with me, because he was looking to bid on some Green Books. Dr. Hynes (also known as He Hynes) was the auctioneer, and he was hilarious! He brought a ton of jokes and definitely was the best person for the job. There was a book written by B.J. Palmer from his printing press that had never been opened. The book went for over $250! It was one of the most exciting items that was bid on.

I walked home with my ticket to Cal Jam, a book and some posters. My brother ended up winning two books.

I’m so excited for the event in March. I haven’t figured out how I’m getting there or where I’m staying yet, but I’m hoping it will all fall into place!

My brother (Michael) and his girlfriend (Sara, on the left) and myself at the dance.

In December we had the Palmer holiday party, but it’s better known as Palmer Prom. A few of the girls in the sorority (and their dates) met up at the house first before heading to the party. It was nice to go out as a group!

Since this was my first year attending, I wasn’t sure what to expect. When we got there, I was surprised by how many people were already there. I met up with Callie, Madison, Ruth, Katie and Taylor, who are some of the girls in my class. There were a lot of appetizers, and they were all amazing.

The event was downtown and there was a band playing cover songs. The band was great, and they played some of my favorite cover songs. I was surprised how full the dance floor was all night and by the amount of people who came. It was so nice to get dressed up, go out and relax.

Like normal, when you are having so much fun, the night flew by! Needless to say, the next day my feet were super sore from all the dancing.

I can’t wait for next years Palmer Prom!

-Jen

Picture: My brother (Michael) and his girlfriend (Sara) and myself at the dance

The day after my birthday, my brother had his white coat ceremony, which is his official welcoming into the clinic as a practicing student intern.

It was nice that our parents were able to come down for it and celebrate this big day for him, as well as my birthday! Sometimes when you are in the trenches of all the exams, it’s hard to keep your eye on the target. It was so exciting to see him move on to the next step. Since Mike can’t work on family in the clinic, I’ll need to find another intern, but I’m sure he’ll do great!

The time sure does fly by at Palmer, even though some days it doesn’t feel like it. I’m sure Mike feels like he has been in school forever since he came straight from his undergrad program instead of working for a few years like me.

Class 171 is an average size class, and the ceremony took about an hour. Just over a year left for them! I’m looking forward to the day I have my white coat ceremony!

The ceremony took place on a Friday afternoon, and then after we did a little shopping around Davenport. In the evening we went out to eat at a German restaurant in Moline called Bierstube. The food was delicious, and they had some amazing desserts, which included Nutella!